1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a board terminal used for connecting an external electric circuit to a printed board circuit housed in an electric junction box and the like for a vehicle. Particularly, the present invention relates to a board terminal fanned of a metal wire material, press-fitted to and held by a synthetic resin terminal holding fixture.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to connect an electrical component to a printed board circuit housed in an electric junction box and the like for a vehicle, a connection terminal formed of a conductive metal material is conventionally used. As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2000-243495 in particular, the connection terminal is press-fitted to and held in a terminal holding hole penetrating a synthetic resin terminal holding fixture, such as a terminal base, a connector housing, and the like. A first end side of a board terminal is then soldered to a conductive path of a printed board circuit, and a second end side is fitted and connected to a connection terminal and the like of a connector provided to an external wire terminal. Thus, an external electric circuit is connected to a printed board circuit.
In order to achieve a secure and stable connection between the board terminal and the external connection terminal, each board terminal press-fitted to the terminal holding hole of the terminal holding fixture needs to be solidly fixed to a position of the terminal holding fixture and held thereto. A structure is thus proposed, as shown in FIG. 4 of Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2000-243495, in which first projections and second projections are provided, the first projections projecting both sides in a board width direction of the board terminal, the second projections projecting both sides in a board thickness direction; and projected end surfaces of the respective projections and both opposing surfaces of the terminal holding hole are press-contacted, and fixed by interference fit. Thereby, displacement in both directions of the board thickness and board width of the board terminal can be prevented, and thus the board terminal is solidly fixed to the position, and held thereto.
When the projections are provided in the board width direction and the board thickness direction of the board terminal, and thus a projection amount (overlap margin of the projections and the respective opposing surfaces of the terminal holding hole) is increased so as to increase a holding force of the board terminal, however, a press-fit force of the board terminal to the terminal holding hole is increased. As a result, cost is increased due to increase in size of equipment required for press-fitting, and work efficiency is deteriorated due to decrease in a press-fitting rate.
With recent demand for downsizing and high density of electric junction boxes, board terminals have been increasingly employed which are obtained by cutting a metal wire material at a predetermined length, the metal wire material allowing production of terminals having a small cross section at a high yield. Board terminals having a small cross section formed of the metal wire material tend to cause problems associated with increased press-fit force, such as deformation, buckling, and the like.